Unintended Entrance
by paynesgrey
Summary: River Song does not intend to meet the Doctor's past self and his companion Charley Pollard. Eighth Doctor x Charley Pollard. River x Eleven implied. ONE-SHOT.


AN: Written for the "Exits and Entrances" challenge for who_contest on Livejournal. 

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><p><span>Unintended Entrance<span>

She's sipping tea at her table and filling her TARDIS-shaped diary when she sees it. It's a Shadow Person, a fabled malevolent species in her time line, but proof in front of her that it exists. River notices it sneaking around, planning to attack the very subject she's observing.

The Doctor.

The frustrating thing is that he doesn't even see it or sense it. The Doctor is too busy happily chatting up his current companion, a young blonde girl in Edwardian attire. (_Oh, Doctor, you do like the blondes, don't you?_ River thinks.)

_Oh, come on, _she muses anxiously, as the Shadow Person is slowly creeping toward the Doctor with a weapon ready to strike. No one in the alien courtyard notices him either, and not even the Doctor has seen the creature by now.

Except for River, who feels she must do something to prevent the Doctor or his companion from getting hurt. (And River hopes his companion isn't _supposed_ to get injured or even die like this – his companions usually don't die stupidly from surprise, do they? She just prays she doesn't upset this time line if she's wrong.)

So she rises from her seat, aims her favorite laser gun, and fires. The Shadow Person trills before staggering backward into a stiff heap on the ground. The Doctor is shocked, jumps up from his chair as his companion follows him. He sees River immediately and realizes what she has done.

It's not the sort of entrance she expects to make, but of course, River Song doesn't expect to expose herself at all, not in this time, and certainly not to him – a previous incarnation of the Doctor.

She's really just supposed to watch him from a distance; that's what she's been doing so she can learn more about the Doctor, of who he was before he became _her_ Doctor, the one the Silence wants her to kill.

It doesn't even pain her to see him before he knows her, not as much as she one day thinks it will, when the Doctor means more to her – or will mean more to her.

She's not quite sure which lifetime this one is, but she doesn't have a drawing of him, not among the five others she's collected. With the others, she at least has stayed in the background so she could observe them without contaminating the web of time.

And with the Doctor, his time line is so convoluted, so River knows she has to tread carefully. It doesn't mean she can't bend the rules a little – like she has to now.

"You saved our lives!" cries the Doctor, immediately coming over to her and offering his hand. River smiles, delighting in the tone of his voice. She glances at his face, finding this one more appealing than the others.

She has to admit he has amazing hair too.

"I can't thank you enough. We had trouble with them earlier, and I didn't realize that one followed us back." He takes her hand before she can worry about the damage it may do to time. When the universe doesn't blow up, River returns the smile and eagerly shakes his hand back.

"It was no trouble at all. I saw him lurking toward you quite slowly. He really wasn't that great of a hunter," she says, and she notices his companion in the corner of her eye. The girl's curious and skeptical expression amuses her.

"Well, lucky for us I guess; though, I don't really approve of killing, it did seem to save us regardless," the Doctor said.

River cocks her head at him, feeling her own Doctor's nature resonating within his words. She quickly straps her gun back into the holster and laughs. "Don't worry; he's not dead, only stunned. Normally, he wouldn't be so lucky." She smirks coyly at him, feeling his gaze on her as he studies her. She sees him furrow his brow.

"Strange... Have we met before? I do have a terrible memory, but I'm getting a sense of deja vu," he says, and River pulls her hand away from his.

"I'm afraid not," she says, and she resists the urge to call him 'Sweetie'. "You are?"

"Ah, the Doctor," he says, "and this is Charley Pollard." River turns to the girl, who is still giving her a suspicious eye. River smiles at her, knowing just what to do in these situations. Oh, the Doctor has had many companions, many who have fancied him beyond what he's capable of returning. Though, as soon as the Doctor introduces Charley, River remembers her from her research.

She's almost honored. "Ms. Pollard, it is a pleasure to meet you," River says, and she thinks it's always best to treat the companions just as fondly as she does the Doctor. In Charley's case, River really is happy to meet her. Like Rose, Donna, and all sorts of others, Charley Pollard has helped the Doctor save the whole universe.

The universe certainly needs the Doctor, but it needs people like Charley too.

River shakes her hand and both of them are waiting for her introduction. River is ready for this moment, and she has the perfect pseudonym. "I'm Song Williams, time traveler and student of ..." River pauses. "Many things," she concludes, twirling a bit of her curly hair.

"Time traveler? Oh, really? It's rare but delightful to meet one of our own," says the Doctor ecstatically. "If I may ask, how do you travel?"

River follows him over to their table, and he invites her to join them for tea. She complies, but she can tell he's eagerly craving her answer.

"Ah, well, it's not as easy as one may think; however, somewhere in time and space there is one very unhappy Time Agent who lost his Vortex Manipulator in a game of Naked Billiards, among other things," she reveals cheekily, and the Doctor seems entranced. Charley, however, is not, and she appears bored and jealous.

Despite Charley's disposition, River cannot resist the Doctor's obvious fascination with her – even as an adventurer called Song Williams. When he looks at her, just as he always does like a puzzle he cannot solve, he makes her knees weak and she feels a vigor stir within her core.

She admits, she'd like to have a go at this incarnation – tear off that Victorian coat and thread her fingers through his soft, medium-length hair. She wants those eyes to look at her like he knows her – just as River Song, the woman he's going to be with one day, the woman with whom he shares so much history and so much love.

But this is not _her_ Doctor – not really, and not yet.

He _is_ lovely, and she could close her eyes and listen to that stirring voice all day.

River knows she can't. She's not even supposed to meet him. She's just supposed to pop in, observe him and draw his picture for her diary and head back to the university campus. Doctorate exams await her, and though her Doctor research is important, meeting him like this is more than a fleeting fancy – a temptation she cannot resist.

That, and she did save his and Charley's life.

"You are fascinating, Ms. Williams. I suppose you're a force to reckon with if you blow holes in Shadow People and win time travel machines from Time Agents. I'm rather curious to see what you'd be like on one of our adventures," the Doctor babbles, but River is no doubt flattered. "Hrmm... more tea?" He pours it but keeps talking. "I believe I said the same thing to Amelia Earhart when I met her. Lovely woman, dire spot she was in, sucked through a rip in the Time Vortex; though, I suppose you didn't know that. I'm happy to say I saw her safely arrive in the 27th century, which seemed to have a revival of that whole steam-punk style. The last I heard she absolutely loved it...Oh! I'm sorry, I'm going on again. As I was saying, thank you for saving our life, Ms. Williams, if you should ever want to go on adventures, you should let me know, and I'd be happy to repay your saving our lives for an trip to any place in the galaxy."

"I appreciate the offer, Doctor, but I do much better alone. Besides, I believe Charley already takes care of you, and I would never dare impose," River says, and she turns to Charley with a wink, and the girl almost looks stunned that River is so kind to her. Really, there is no need for companion-jealousy. River's never considered herself one of the Doctor's companions, at least, not in the way Charley would ever understand.

"Well, that is a shame, but I understand. You clearly can take care of yourself," he says jovially, yet obviously disheartened by her rejection.

"You have no idea," River says, sipping the last bit of her tea and realizing it is her time to go. Her entrance into this Doctor's life may have been exhilarating, but she is hoping that her exit from this moment of his is entirely forgettable. "Well," she says, rising from her seat. "I must be off. It was nice to meet you both and save your lives, but I have a whole universe to explore, and truthfully, exams at the university are on Monday."

The Doctor's clear eyes lit up again. "Oh, exams for what, may I ask? If there's anything I can help you with..." River loves that he really want to return her debt, but he won't do it now. She knows he'll make up for it later.

"Well, if you must know, Archeology," she says, noticing the instant irritation on his face despite trying to be polite. She knows quite well the Doctor's opinion of her favorite subject, and well, she figures his opinion is long withstanding.

"Oh, well, that _is_ interesting," he says, and River senses the forced politeness in his voice. "Yes, fascinating." After a beat he shakes her hand again with a smile. "Well, farewell, then, Ms. Williams."

"Best wishes on those exams," Charley offers civilly, and River turns to her with another appreciative smile.

"Take care, Charley," River says with fondness. They watch her as she gathers her things up from the other table and exits out of the courtyard.

* * *

><p>Some time later that afternoon, River waits for the Doctor and Charley to leave the courtyard and move onto their next adventure. River is warmed by the sight of the TARDIS in an alley, and she notices that it has a more rustic,worn look than it does in her time. The poor old girl has been through a lot in this period, and she will only endure more.<p>

River stays far enough away from their senses to still hear their voices. The Doctor prattles on about meeting Song Williams, and Charley tries to offer any polite words on the matter, yet his companion clearly wants to change the subject.

"Doctor, you really are thick sometimes, aren't you?" Charley says to him as her voice lowers. "Especially about women – women like that anyway," she adds.

"What? What? What do you mean, Charley?" he asks bemused.

"She was flirting with you! Or, at least it sort of seemed like she was, but she definitely didn't seem bothered by me," Charley thinks contemplatively. "It's odd. It's like she did know you, and she was playing with you because she knew you couldn't remember. It amused her!"

"Oh, Charley, I think you are exaggerating. If anything, I may have already met her in a future time, and she was just...keeping quiet about it, you know, rules of time and space and all," he says. "She _is_ a time traveler."

"Well, if she does know you from the future, she certainly enjoyed staring at you like a piece of meat," Charley says with a pout. (River has to hold herself back from laughing at that; Charley, of course, gets points for observation.)

"Oh, don't be silly, Charley," the Doctor says, and he stops before the TARDIS doors and meets her gaze. "You act as though you're jealous."

Charley scoffs and waits for him to open the door so she can stomp inside. She turns toward him before he can follow her and adds, "It's not like you notice such things! Honestly, Doctor, you have the attention span of a raccoon! If it's not shiny, curly and entering the scene with guns ablaze, you barely even bat an eye!"

"Nonsense!" River hears him mutter before he shoos her inside. Instantly, River hears the Doctor turn the awkward conversation toward something else – just as he always does when he's flustered. "Now, where shall we go next? I know! I've been promising you Cassiopeia!"

River strides out of the shadows of the alley and watches the TARDIS begin to fade. The familiar sound dances on her ears for a moment, and she closes her eyes as the wind swirls around her face.

The air settles and River Song sees an lonely alley in an unknown time.

She feels an ache in her chest and realizes just how much she misses the Doctor.

Pulling together her resolve, River reaches inside her bag for the Vortex Manipulator and sets it for home. She thinks of her exams and puts the thoughts of the Doctor out of her mind for now.

She knows in time she'll have him. She just has to be patient, and all this effort of studying his past and seeing his other incarnations will all be worth it in the end.

If not, at least it's worth something to her. Even if these past lives don't recognize her, it's enough that she gets to see him at all, in whichever face he wears.


End file.
